Short Fiction: Thirty-four Million

Chinelo looked mockingly at her husband who sat across from her in the well lit room. How dare you be late? She thought. How dare you attempt to miss such an opportunity, the door way out of the misery I thought we were trapped in. Someone has come to our rescue and you dare be late? I’ll forgive you because you came. If you had not, if you missed this meeting, I would have filed for divorce first thing tomorrow. I would have moved to the village with the children. 

These thoughts danced around her head as the facilitator spoke on. The facilitator- a middle aged woman with a daring look that made one believe whatever she said – was telling a story of how the business had helped a family. ‘They now have three cars’ she said. ‘Their third house in Lagos will be ready before the end of the year. They now live in a mansion’

Chinelo’s eyes rounded in a glow. She stared at the pictures on the projector screen in the center of the room. The family in the photograph stood beside a shining car, a big house was a short distance away and well trimmed lawns and walkways were visible. 

Chinelo exclaimed ‘ewoh!’ and wrapped her hands around her chest like one feeling chilly. When she noticed eyes falling on her, she felt embarrassed and straightened up. It was her husband’s turn to give her a mocking gaze. ‘Why do you choose to disgrace us here?’ he asked with his eyes and curved lips.

‘You will sit in your house and bank alerts will come in. Money from every angle! Just register. This is your doorway to financial freedom’ the facilitator continued.

‘See this woman’ she pointed at a new picture on the projector screen, ‘She made thirty-four million naira last year. ‘See this other man, the one with a blue cap; he made forty-seven million naira.’

Elements that would make up her world if she had thirty-four million naira, flashed in Chinelo’s head. That is enough for me, she thought. The children will go to proper schools. We would secure a house in the main city, not the suburb where we live and complain about two-two naira. No more Nasco cornflakes on a bi-monthly basis. My children will enjoy kellogg’s every week. Oh Chineke! 

She looked instinctively in her husband’s direction. He did the same and their eyes locked in a stare of hope. We are safe now, they said to each other, delivered from misery. When we get thirty-four million, we will resign our present jobs in style, I (the wife) will spit at my boss. I (the husband) will slap courtesy into my boss’s wife. Life will be perfect. Life will sparkle. I won’t flare up and call you names, at least not a name like: poverty stricken he-goat or useless pauper. We would paint the sky in the village a different colour every year, starting with red, then purple, then green, then a dark shade of blue, and on and on. I will finally tell you I love you. I will call you ‘honey’ and ‘sweetie’ because life will be sweet. 

‘In six months, we are going on a trip to California. I’ll need just ten persons who will be ready to commit themselves to this. Who is ready to go with me?’ the facilitator announced.

Anxious hands flew up but Chinelo jumped to her feet, noticed her awkwardness and took her seat again. She avoided her husband’s face. 

Forms were handed out to everyone in the room who indicated interest in the business. Chinelo filled hers hurriedly. She felt a necessity to be the first person to submit her form. The race towards thirty-four million had begun. She practically ran to the submission desk and was the first to submit. Her body was vibrating. Her husband felt the same way but ego kept him in check.

 They agreed to keep the business a secret. 

‘Let our breakthrough be a surprise to all our enemies’ Chinelo instructed her husband, who nodded in agreement. A few names and faces of ‘their enemies’ came to him and his nodding became more vigorous. It was be nice to have those people die of heart attacks when they get news that he lives in a mansion and has thirty-four million stashed in the bank. 

For three days after the meeting, Chinelo hummed praise tunes as she carried out her chores. She smiled a lot and tolerated her neighbours to the extent of apologizing when they were wrong. Her husband became cranky at work and responded to his boss with nods and short, inaudible remarks. He spent time constructing his life around thirty-four million. He compared his boss’s mansion to what his would look like. As he chauffeured his boss about town, he imagined being driven into his village in a Big Jeep, in December. He would sit at the ‘owner’s corner’ and bark orders at the driver. Chinelo would sit beside him, looking gracefully and flamboyant. The children will be driven in another Big Jeep. Their suitcases and servants would be in yet another. The three jeeps would be black and gleaming. They would have tinted windshields and windows. 

On the fourth day, Chinelo got a call.

‘Hello. Good Afternoon Madam.’ 

‘Hello. Good Afternoon’ Chinelo replied.

‘Madam you attended the networking business seminar?’

‘Yes O! But we are still trying to source for the initially money. See ehn, we would get it. I hope it is not too late. I hope there is no problem. Please, we would get the money. I was the first to submit my form on that day. Please O. Biko…’

‘Madam… Madam… That is not why I called’ the caller was amused. 

‘Ehn ehn? Okay. So why did you call. Hope no problem?’

‘There is an error on the form you submitted.’

‘Error ke?’

‘Yes, the name you wrote is: Mrs. Thirty-four million’

‘Chineke! I wrote that? I am sorry O. Chei! I hope I have not lost the opportunity. Please sir. Biko.’

‘Madam…Madam… you have not. Just pay us a visit and complete another form.’

Chinelo did not say a word about her error to her husband. She feared he would laugh her to scorn or worse still, get enraged at her audacity to make such an error that could have jeopardized their chances of making it into a house in GRA and tear-rubber cars.

But he could have cared less. Since that day when he stood at the balcony of their mansion, his hands resting on the marble constructs of the balcony. He watched the children splash water around in the pool beneath. Tall palms lined the walls of the premises and swayed gently. A little distance away, five Bentleys gleamed in the sun. They had serial registration numbers: EZEEGO 1, EZEEGO 2, … EZEEGO 5.

He smiled and returned into the mansion. There she was, in a night dress she otherwise would have reaped apart and sewed an outing blouse from. Why was it suddenly night time? She lay on a large bed that had gold lines running along its costly wood. She was smiling too. 

“Chinelo my love”

“My husband” She replied

“You know I love you” he said, walking closer till he sat at the edge of the bed.

She wriggled into his warmth. 

“You are my sweetie” she said.

“Pinch me Chinelo, it must be a dream”

“No be dream my honey. Na our money don come”

“Pinch me! Pinch me!”

She did pinch him, and to prove it wasn’t a dream, she chose a fleshy spot by the side of his belly and twisted the flesh long and hard, pulling it with vigour. 

 He jerked out of sleep and slammed his head against the crude edges of their aged bed. 

“Are you mad!” he yelled, unsure whether to rub his head or his inflamed side. He rubbed his head.

“You dey shout pinch me, pinch me”

He looked around. No balcony, no swimming pool. The room’s walls had the crayon markings the children had made and there was no trace of gold on the bed. It was a dream.

“Na dream?” Chinelo asked. 

He sighed and hope leaped into his eyes. 

“My dear, our thirty-four million dey come!”

TALKING WITH PEOPLE- MAY EDITION

 AISHA MAINA: A Participant

Should a woman be allowed to work? Have you ever had to discuss the above subject? Most likely you have or at least you have heard others discuss it.  I was present at a gathering where this was being debated recently. It was a gathering of young people, young, vibrant men and women. Everyone had more than one or two words to add. Words few back and forth and as I listened, my countenance alternated between shock, surprise and dismay. Of all the persons who spoke for or against, only one came close to what I would regard a suitable argument. All the contributions (except one) could be categorized into:

No, a woman should not work; her husband should cater for her. If she does, she would become proud and/ or promiscuous.

Yes, a woman should work. The economic situation demands that she does. She has to contribute something to the family’s revenue purse. She should not reflect on the expenditure side alone but on the income side also.

I was saddened by the responses. I considered them myopic.

No one mentioned the insulting angle of the question ‘should a woman be allowed to work?’ No one pointed out the fact that it should not be a question, the mere argument is insulting to the women folk. Not even the ladies who contributed their opinions mentioned this. So I rose to add my voice, here is what I said:

The debate stems from a misconception of who a woman really is and what her roles are. This misconception was portrayed in the various contributions.

First, saying a woman should not work but be catered for by her husband, reduces her to a mere possession. She belongs to the man, just like his car does. So she is to be catered for and used. 

Secondly, the argument that a woman should work so she can contribute to the family income flattens her human experience and reduces her to a mere economic unit. It means a woman is considered solely from the angle of economic prospect. The focus is how much she will be able to make to complement her husband’s income. This is a sad argument, more so because I listened to this straight from the lips of ladies. A woman is much more than an economic unit.

In my opinion, this debate should not arise. A woman is neither of the above. She is a participant in life. She is a human being, just like a man is. She should participate in the scheme of life and she does not need anyone’s permission to do so. It is left to her to decide in what form she would like to participate – as a housewife, a career woman, a mother, etc. It is her choice to make.  She should have dreams and aspirations like men do. She should add value to life. She should participate in any way she chooses, and in any way through which she would maximize her happiness and sense of fulfillment.

To refer to a woman as a possession or an economic unit is to flattening an otherwise robust human experience. No one (male or female) should work because of income alone. If we do, we would only succeed in living at subsistence level. We should work to add value, to make life better for someone else, even though they would have to pay us for doing so.

Women, you are not possessions or mere economic units, you are participants and it is up to you to choose how exactly you will participate.

This month’s edition of TWP is focused on woman who is participating in the area of entrepreneurship. With the staggering rate of unemployment in Nigeria, she is doing more than making a good living for herself. She is creating jobs, adding value and indeed participating. It is my sincere wish that she would further inspire young ladies to break off from the mentality of being either  possessions or economic units, and embrace the firm fact that they are participants. Enjoy!

Here is an interview with her by Chi Ibe, culled from: www.ynaija.com

Meet Aisha Maina, CEO of Aquarian Consult; a leading provider of Human Resource, Recruitment and Business Development Consultancy in Nigeria.

Aisha Maina

What is the full scope of services in Aquarian Consult?

 Aquarian Consult is a business development consultancy firm. We partner with businesses to add value and help the businesses grow. Our services include but are not limited to: business planning, strategy formulation, HR consultancy, recruitment and training.

How did you start your business?

I started by researching and planning the business then implementing the plan. Aquarian Consult started with just a laptop and access to the internet.

How long have you run your business?

3 and a half years.

Why recruitment?

Every business needs people to run it and ensure it is sustainable. We help businesses get the right people. There are hundreds of thousands of people seeking employment or wishing to change jobs, we try to match these job seekers with the right jobs for them.

What’s the employment/unemployment landscape in Abuja?

Well, there are a lot of small businesses. In Abuja but a lot of people don’t want to work for SMEs. There are quite a number of jobs and quite a number of jobseekers in Abuja.

How many young people have you been able to secure jobs for?

We have been able to secure jobs for over 300 people so far.

What are the statistics of available jobs vis-a-vis unemployed youths?

There are many different statistics but I can’t vouch for any as I have not carried out any research personally.

There’s a school of thought that Nigerian Graduates are unemployable, what would you say to that?

We find that the larger percentage of jobseekers we come across are actually unemployable.

Can you share four reasons why Nigerian youths might be unemployable?

A lot of time is spent training us on technical skills but in today’s world, it’s not only the technical skills that make you employable, soft skills are just as important as technical skills. We also find that a lot of us (Nigerians) have a sense of entitlement. That air of importance contributes to making a person unemployable because if s/he feels that important, they would have a problem with authority.

Another factor we have seen is the message of entrepreneurship which we propagate. It’s a great message but we have to balance it with the message that to be a good leader, you MUST be a great follower. These are just a few factors in the endemic issue of unemployable Nigerians. How responsive are these graduates to skills development? 

Not very responsive. Most graduates don’t think they should pay any more money to gain knowledge. They feel the training and the amount spent in school should be enough. Self-development is a continuous journey, not a race. 

 What solutions would you proffer to the unemployment situation in the country? What are the challenges facing your business?

 Mostly mind-set. Most Nigerian small businesses do not think they should pay for professional services as “we can do it all ourselves.”

Do you encounter staffing issues as well?

Yes we do. We also have to pick from the pool of graduates that are in Nigeria today so we have similar issues as most small businesses, but we have a training and mentoring schedule that ensures that whoever works or leaves Aquarian Consult is not only very employable but would be a real asset to the organization.

 What challenges do you face because of location?

 We are lucky as we hardly have challenges related to our location.

 How can entrepreneurship be more conducive in Nigeria?

 There should be several initiatives to train people on business management, leadership skills and most importantly communication skills. It would also be nice if access to funds could be made a little easier.

What can Government do?

 Policies can be implemented and regulatory bodies should be instituted to ensure that these policies are continuously implemented.

If you were the president, what would you do about the state of security in the country?

Well, as I’m not the President, I don’t have all the information needed to make an informed suggestion on what actions should be carried out in regards to security.